The Bill devotes 35 clauses and 17 pages to the supervisory Committee and the Panels, and 1 clause - half a page - to the grounds for abortion.

The Supervisory Committee, which is to have supreme power over legal abortion in New Zealand, is under total political control. It is to be appointed by the Governor General (we know who the next one will be!) on the recommendation of the Minister of Justice, The only stipulation is that of the three, members, two shall be medical practioners. There is nothing to stop the Minister appointing Or Wall, Dr Liley and Des Dalgety to the Committee. The Minister may remove any member from office at any time.

Why is the Committee so powerful?

It is to issue licences to all institutions, including public hospitals, where abortions may be performed. These licences will be issued only when the Committee is satisfied that there is a need for an (or another) institution in the area. How such a need be decided? By the number of women travelling miles to have an abortion? Or by the incidence of illegal abortions in the area? Or by the number of women whose pregnancy becomes so tar advanced while they waiting that termination is impossible?

Every institution must apply and pay for a renewal of its licence every year. The Committee can cancel or refuse to renew a licence if it believes that the holder has failed to take all reasonable and practical steps to ensure that the provisions of the law are complied with. The onus is then on the licensee to prove the Committee is wrong—guilty unless you can prove you are innocent. Appeals are only allowed against decisions which are erroneous in law.

The Panels

The Committee is also to appoint an unspecified number of panels (presumably also according to "need ") to include at least one [unclear: gynaecoloay] or obstetrics specialist. It is desirable that one doctor be a woman; and also that "persons be appointed whose assessment of cases will not be coloured by their personal views in relation to abortion generally". (No such point was noted for the Committee, or about the Counsellors involved!) The Committee may at any time revoke the appointment of any panel member or take any doctor's name off the list of approved deputies. No reason appears to be necessary.

The Committee also appoints counsellors or approves agencies for counselling. These "should be able to advise patients, or refer them to other advisers on alternatives to abortion, such as adoption or solo parenthood." The Committee could reject all known pro-abortion, or neutral groups or individuals, and the choose as counsellors only those who will do their utmost to talk the patient out of an abortion, before she even gets near the panel.

The Merry-Go-Round begins

The Doctor or Family Planning advisor [unclear: submitt] to the panel a written statement of the grounds for abortion. (It is not clear who decides these grounds - the doctor or the patient-but the intention is clearly to make even this this the doctors decision). The patient is then compusarily 'counselled' (as above) and she is not allowed near the panel till they receive written notice that this has been adequately completed. 'As soon as practicable', the panel considers the case. It need not interview the patient at all, if it considers an interview unnecessary or undesirable. So her case may be decided completetly unheard, by a faceless pair of unknown doctors, advised by a voteless social worker who is also unknown to her. If they cannot agree they call in a third unknown (from the approved list, naturally) who then decides. If the approval is given the patient and institution get certificates authorising the abortion. If refused, the patient is offered yet more counselling The intention is clearly to ignore the woman in question and as far as possible treat her as a 'case', a statistic, with panels operating under pressure from the Committee to keep the abortion figures down. It is much easier to deny a woman you do not know and need not even see once, let alone face the results of your decision.

Fees may be charged for applying to the panels, for performing an abortion, and for any other necessary services. The Governor-General decides what will be charged. You cannot take legal action against the Committee or the panels. If your wife or daughter commits suicide after being refused an abortion, or dies in childbirth, or the baby is hopelessly retarded, you have no redress.

You might get an abortion when:

Age and social and economic circumstances may be considered - they need not be.

All these grounds apply up to 20 weeks. After that you can only get an abortion on grounds (a) and (b) So a severely subnormal girl pregnant by her father and not realising until too late need not be entitled to an abortion. Severely subnormal fathers do not evidently, have severely subnormal, children.

—Coaction comments on Abortion Legislation